Washington state voters approved a sex education referendum, the first of its kind in the U.S. Referendum 90 was Washington’s only statewide ballot measure in the November election and the nation’s first sex ed fight to be decided at the ballot. Now, Washington state’s 295 public school districts will be required to choose or create curriculum that aligns with the new wide-ranging sex ed standards and must teach age-appropriate concepts by grade level. The bill goes into effect 30 days after Referendum 90′s passage.
Kindergarteners will be taught how to manage feelings and make friends. It will be one of the most progressive statewide sex ed mandates in the country when it comes to what will be taught to older grades. The curriculum will address relatively new concepts in the classroom — like affirmative consent, which came out of the #MeToo movement, as well as LGBTQ issues, and bystander training.
A majority of all school systems already offer sex ed at some level, most commonly in the middle school grades, but a small number of districts have reported not teaching it at all. (AP)
